What is World Freedom Day?
Each year, on November 9th, the Berlin Wall's fall each year is commemorated. In Central and Eastern Europe, this historic event signaled the end of communism.
Germany was divided into East and West Germany at the end of WWII, splitting Germany into East and West Germany at the end of WWII. Both industries were divided by the American, British, and French-occupied sectors of West Germany, as well as Soviet Union-controlled East Germany. East Germany became its own country in 1949. The capital city of Berlin fell within the Soviet Zone of Occupation..
The living conditions between East and West Germany were quite different, as might have been expected. Economic growth flourished in capitalist West Germany. In communist East Germany, the opposite occurred. Many Germans defected to West Germany in order to escape communist rule's harsh conditions. East Germany had lost a significant portion of its labor force by the late 1960s, which included the majority of the country's labour force.. Almost three million people left East Germany between 1949 and 1961. The Soviet Union, out of desperation, has threatened nuclear weapons to overthrown West Germany, including West Berlin.
Between East and West Berlin on August 12-13, 1961 soldiers erected concrete posts and strung barbed wire between East and West Berlin. This event took place in the middle of the night. People in Berlin awakened the next morning, they could not go to the other side of the city. Berliners couldn't cross over if they had a job or a family on the other side. For decades, Berliners were stranded on their side of Berlin. Soldiers erected a sturdier wall just days later.
Along the 91-mile wall, electric fences, watchtowers, and minefields were eventually installed. The Berlin Wall became a symbol of the Cold War.
